Air to Air Missile 'ASTRA' test fired from ITR

Balasore, Orissa, Sep 13 (UNI) India today test fired the air-to-air short range missile 'ASTRA', from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea, about 15 kms from here.

ITR sources said the guided missile, having a strike range between 25 km and 40 km, was test fired at 1205 hrs from the launch complex of the ITR using a booster engine.

Developed indigenously by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the missile, ITR sources said, met the mission successfully.

The Astra missile had been developed keeping in view the three-pronged defence system for metropolitan cities, particularly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

Powered by solid propellant, ''Astra'' has put the country after Russia and NATO to develop such a sophisticated missile.

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